Came home from town the other day, stopped to collect a spare wheel on the way - then no start!

 

Click and slight dimming of panel lamps on turning the key, indicating that some current was being drawn, but no cranking  .... battery is fine, engine was hot ... checked battery terminals [the immediate suspect] but to no avail.

 

Fortunately I was on a slight slope and that got me started, but after reaching my drive some 550m away and attending to the wants of nature - lo and behold - she was starting perfectly again.

 

I had a similar incident just once before, last December, but she was perfectly happy again after a swift wiggle of the battery connectors.

 

Has anyone out there experienced a similar issue?    I am very anxious to get this sorted out because I was about to put her up for sale and don’t want sell anyone a problem  ... right now I’m scratching my head and wondering whether to start drawing the fuses and relays in case of a dodgy contact.

 

[Long ago I had a cold non-cranking problem one January morning on my lovely old Favorit, same !.3 engine except for the older starter.   That time I finally traced the problem to a poor contact, slight damp corrosion of the main panel ground connector on the engine-room bulkhead hidden in the footwell somwhere above the pedals  ...  but not before I had spent the best part of the weekend frantically tearing out the whole facia assembly, mistakenly fearing some weird issue with the immobliser wiring].

Check for loose or corroded connection to starter solenoid. 

Thanks - I agree that definitely has to has to be first job.   I had checked that the clip felt sound at the time but did not pause to withdraw it then 'cos I was taken short 😉

 

Trouble is that if it appears to  be OK, I shan't know for sure whether I have cleared the fault.

 

I am therfore still very keen to hear from anyone who has experienced similar difficulties for any more subtle reasons.

Edited 13 June, 20241 yr by Skodle

I had exactly the same experience - it was the ignition switch. It was just ocassional malfunction at first, it became more common over time. Ended up not being able to start at all - luckily it was next to a shop with electric equipment, so I could get a piece of wire to connect the starter directly to 12V.

Curiously, I could sometimes hear clicking of the starter solenoid - guess that switch let some current pass through, but not enough to pull the contacts.

I can confirm the ignition switch is the issue if it's not even clicking the solenoid, you can give it a good clean through the hole and see if it sorts it out otherwise you have to change it 

5 hours ago, Skodle said:

I am therfore still very keen to hear from anyone who has experienced similar difficulties for any more subtle reasons.

 

Few years back sometimes i had a delay in cracking, not consistent but from time to time.

One night although i had power i was barely manage to start the car, next morning no crank at all, "dead" and luckily i was parked beside the local repair shop.

I thought was the starter but was the solenoid, i change it.

As for the switch i spray 1-2 times per year contact cleaner with no oil and i clean the key grooves with cloth.